Man guilty of federal gun, drug crimes

Wednesday

Jan 16, 2013 at 5:57 PM

Arrest was in connection with a 2011 death in Wilmington's Hillcrest neighborhood

Raleigh | A man who was arrested in connection with a 2011 death in Wilmington's Hillcrest neighborhood was found guilty Wednesday of federal drug and firearm charges. A federal jury found Willis James Sarvis, 34, guilty of distributing PCP and using a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. Sarvis, whose sentencing has yet to take place, was arrested in March 2011 after police found Roshad Jenkins dead in what appeared to be a drug-related shooting. Sarvis wasn't charged with murder, instead being held in the New Hanover County jail on charges of firearm possession, firing into an occupied dwelling and vehicle and selling and delivering drugs. Sarvis later told police that he sold Jenkins two bags of PCP and shot him after the two started fighting. Sarvis said he shot Jenkins in self-defense.